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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Mark Walker

Nico Katic trashed as headbutt accused details ex-Rangers star's 'provocation'

Former Rangers defender Nikola Katic has been accused by Swiss star Taulant Xhaka of insulting him which provoked his outrageous headbutt on the Croatian stopper.

Katic now plays for FC Zurich and was attacked by Xhaka at the weekend after he was sent off when he launched a Zinedine Zidane-style headbutt at the Croatian's chest.

The Basel captain has been hammered with an eight-game ban by the Swiss FA and initially apologised for the incident, although he claimed he was the subject of 'verbal insults against me and my family.'

But after the ban was handed down, Xhaka called out Katic for his behaviour leading up to the incident, without revealing exactly what was said to him to cause him to react, as he hit out at media coverage of the incident.

Xhaka said: "Look at the video of why he puts the jersey in front of his mouth and keeps coming to me. You guys have cameras everywhere, don't you?

"Of course you're not interested in the fact that I'm being provoked and my family involved.

"And this guy from Zurich...I don't even know his name. Of course, what he says doesn't interest you either, does it?

"In the future, it's better to hire a lip reader than a VAR that doesn't work."

The Insider newsletter is the latest move by the team at the Rangers Review to bring content directly to you. We already have accounts on Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Tik Tok and Instagram but we will also send exclusive bespoke opinion pieces every day at 5pm direct to your email. Not only will you receive this piece from one of our team of Joshua Barrie, Derek Clark or Jonny McFarlane but you will also get our list of the best content published in the last 24 hours. It's a handy way to keep abreast of what's going on amid all the noise surrounding Scotland's most successful club. You can sign up in five seconds with just an email address here.

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